Insight to drive subscription growth

Join

Dana E. Neuts

Dana Neuts is Subscription Insider's Editorial Director, covering our daily subscription news as well as member features, case studies, premium content, and reports. Dana is also a writer, editor, marketer and communications professional. Her work has appeared in AARP Bulletin, The Seattle Times, Seattle Business, 425 Business, 425 Magazine, South Sound Magazine, Northwest Travel and more. Her specialties include business writing, community news, senior issues, travel and, of course, subscriptions!

Dana E. Neuts

Five on Friday: Automatic Refills, OTT TV and Top Subscription Jobs

Auto-renew Subscription, Business Services, Consumer Services, Customer Service, Data and IoT, Entertainment and Streaming, News, Regulation and Compliance, Revenue and Sales, SaaS and Cloud Services, Subscriber Only, Subscription Apps, Subscription Boxes /

Before you knock off for the weekend, check out this weeks edition of Five on Friday: PSFK explores how automatic refills are enhancing subscription services – and revenues, we share top subscription jobs from LinkedIn, The Athletic says it doesnt plan to change its ad-free philosophy any time soon, research shows that OTT TV services will grow to 400 million subscribers this year, and Digiday explains the extremist approach to GDPR, which kicks in next week.

Five on Friday: Automatic Refills, OTT TV and Top Subscription Jobs Read More »

Two Authors Sue Cengage for Unlimited Subscription Service

Learning and Training, News, Regulation and Compliance /

Educational publisher Cengage is under fire for its new unlimited subscription service. Two authors – David Knox and Caroline Schacht – filed suit in the Southern District of New York, claiming that Cengage’s new unlimited subscription service, Cengage Unlimited, will cause their sales and royalties to plummet substantially. Though the suit was filed by only two authors, they are seeking class action status on behalf of other textbook authors.

Two Authors Sue Cengage for Unlimited Subscription Service Read More »

Google Launches Google One Subscriptions for Cloud Storage

Business Services, Consumer Services, Data and IoT, Freemium, Industry Announcements, News, Product Development, Revenue and Sales, SaaS and Cloud Services, Subscription Apps /

These days everyone is storing files in the cloud, whether they’re backing up smartphone data or uploading documents to Dropbox, Slack of Google Drive. Earlier this week, Google upped its cloud storage game with the launch of Google One, a simple, cloud-based storage solution for consumers, that will replace Google Drive. Under the new product, subscribers will manage their files through a Google One app, reports CNET.

Google Launches Google One Subscriptions for Cloud Storage Read More »

WHOOP Launches a $30 Membership for Peak Physical Performance

Auto-renew Subscription, Business Services, Business Strategy, Consumer Services, FInance, Industry Announcements, Memberships, News, Product Development, Revenue and Sales /

WHOOP, a performance-measuring wearable for athletes, has launched a $30 a month membership, for consumers who want to want to up their physical game, reports TechCrunch. With a six-month minimum commitment, consumers get a WHOOP Strap 2.0 wearable to track five different metrics 100 times a second, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Used by professional athletes for training, WHOOP technology records strain (how hard the athlete works), recovery (helps determine an athlete’s readiness to work out) and sleep (which recommends the ideal sleep amount for peak performance the next day).

WHOOP Launches a $30 Membership for Peak Physical Performance Read More »

Medium Cancels Paid Membership Program for Two Dozen Publishers

Business Operations, Business Services, Business Strategy, Consumer Services, Freemium, Industry Announcements, Memberships, News, Paywall, Product Development, Revenue and Sales, SaaS and Cloud Services /

In an April email to about two dozen publisher partners, blog platform Medium notified publishers that, in May, the company will no longer offer them the ability to offer paid memberships, reports Shan Wang for Nieman Lab. A Medium spokesperson said subscribers were notified on April 27 that Medium would start shutting down the program as individual memberships come up for renewal. Chris Faraone, founder of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism, said they were never notified by Medium; they found out from a subscriber.

Medium Cancels Paid Membership Program for Two Dozen Publishers Read More »

Surf Air Launches New Group Membership Plan

Auto-renew Subscription, Business Services, Industry Announcements, Memberships, News, Product Development, Revenue and Sales /

Hoping to make flying more affordable for groups, Surf Air has launched a new group membership plan. Under this plan, group members pay a $250 initiation fee per person. There is no limit to the number of members in a group, but a two-member minimum applies. Monthly dues start at $3,000 for six one-way flights on executive, eight-seat planes within Surf Air’s California and Texas markets. For those who want more flights, recurring flight packs of 10 one-way flights are available for $5,000 each. Unused flights roll over to the next month.

Surf Air Launches New Group Membership Plan Read More »

Weekly Subscription News: Facebook, Fitbit, Frustrations and Fears

Auto-renew Subscription, Business Services, Consumer Services, Customer Service, Data and IoT, Entertainment and Streaming, FInance, Freemium, Industry Announcements, Mergers and Acquisitions, News, Paywall, Product Development, Regulation and Compliance, Revenue and Sales /

Knee deep in the latest financial reports, experts and analysts are diving into subscription services to see where they are helping – and hurting – their owners. In this week’s subscription news round-up, would-be subscribers report frustrations with Care by Volvo, Bloomberg is the latest publisher to put up a paywall, and Fitbit is looking at targeted mergers and acquisitions to save the day. Also this week, News Corp tattles on Google and Facebook, Shopify reports revenue growth of 68 percent, and Spotify’s guidance does not impress investors.

Weekly Subscription News: Facebook, Fitbit, Frustrations and Fears Read More »

Five on Friday: Media, Messenger and Monetizing Music

Auto-renew Subscription, Business Operations, Business Services, Consumer Services, Data and IoT, Entertainment and Streaming, Freemium, Metered Subscription, News, Paywall, Product Development, Regulation and Compliance, Revenue and Sales, SaaS and Cloud Services, Subscriber Only, Subscription Apps /

If youre tired of the political headlines, weve got something to distract you – subscription news you can use to grow your business. In this weeks edition of Five on Friday, Pandora and Spotify face the difficult reality of trying to monetize streaming music, Ad Exchanger explains how Googles GDPR consent tool will limit publishers, Forbes explores blockchain, Axios shows how publishers are using paywalls to stay afloat, and Facebook tries to help people protect their data with new restrictions on Messenger.

Five on Friday: Media, Messenger and Monetizing Music Read More »

CBS Leverages Premium Subscriptions for Record Q1 Revenue

Auto-renew Subscription, Business Operations, Business Strategy, Consumer Services, Entertainment and Streaming, FInance, News, Subscription Apps /

CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS) is leveraging premium subscriptions for record first quarter revenue of $3.76 billion, a 13 percent from revenue of $3.34 billion during the first quarter of 2017. This includes subscriptions to CBS All Access and Showtime OTT, over-the-top TV services that provide subscribers with ad-free streaming TV shows and movies, including original and exclusive programming like Star Trek Discovery and The Good Fight.

CBS Leverages Premium Subscriptions for Record Q1 Revenue Read More »

Pandora Sees Significant Growth in Subscribers and Revenue in Q1

Business Operations, Business Services, Business Strategy, Consumer Services, Entertainment and Streaming, FInance, Freemium, Mergers and Acquisitions, News, Product Development, Revenue and Sales, Subscription Apps /

In its earnings report last week, Pandora (NYSE: P) posted significant gains in subscription revenue and total subscribers, but it wasn’t enough to put Pandora in the black. During the first quarter of 2018, Pandora had total revenue of $319.2 million, a 12 percent increase year-over-year, excluding ANZ and Ticketfly income. Subscription revenue accounted for $104.7 million in total revenue, representing a 63 percent increase year-over-year.

Pandora Sees Significant Growth in Subscribers and Revenue in Q1 Read More »